Poll of four Muslim nations: Majorities support shari’a, most goals of Al Qaeda

posted at 10:19 am on April 24, 2007 by Allahpundit

No comment necessary, but do give it a perfunctory click and scroll-through as there’s lots to see. The good news: overwhelming majorities in all four countries disapprove of attacks on civilians in the U.S. and Europe. The bad news: everything else, including/especially the results from Egypt, where 60% thought suicide bombings were often or sometimes justified in attacking an enemy. (The next highest total was Morocco with 35%.) Very quietly, Egypt has become one of the most radical Muslim countries in the world. As you scroll, compare its results to the results from, say, Pakistan.

Breaking on Hot Air

Blowback

Note from Hot Air management: This section is for comments from Hot Air's community of registered readers. Please don't assume that Hot Air management agrees with or otherwise endorses any particular comment just because we let it stand. A reminder: Anyone who fails to comply with our terms of use may lose their posting privilege.

I think Osama’s poll numbers are lower than President Bush!!! (And Congress of course)

HarryStar on April 24, 2007 at 10:27 AM

I dunno…Congress may be polling pretty high in the Middle East these days. Harry Reid is their hero for declaring the war lost, and Nancy Pelosi is the bestest buddy of all the dictators and thugs she can find to have tea with.

That’s what I was thinking, aero, cut off all U.S. aid and watch how fast they crumble. Only problem there is that it’ll be even worse, a failed state being a breading ground for terrorism, but then again, just look at what’s going on in the islamic sections of London. By the way, good work Brits, another day another bust.

To unify all Islamic countries into a single Islamic state of Caliphate

65%? That’s pretty wishful thinking considering they can’t stop killing each other over trivial, century-old religious debates within their own countries and now 2/3s of them think they can put their differences aside and form one state? I’d like to see them try…

Enact the Coulter Doctrine using the Powell Doctrine.

LakeRuins on April 24, 2007 at 10:36 AM

Only 4 comments in? Damn, my money was on 10 but it’s good to see you’re on top of things today. That’s why I keep coming back, the well never runs dry…

I’m not sure what else to say other than repeat the same question I’ve asked 100 times: are we ever going to deal with the reality of what Islam actually is – actually accept it and address it – or are just going to keep hoping Islam is what we hope it is, rather than what the Muslims tell us it is?

Our fear of just facing the reality is worse than the reality itself.

If we keep pretending Islam isn’t what it so clearly is, we’re just leaving it to our children to deal with.

I thought you kept coming back to remind me personally that sometimes it’s okay to laugh at the semi-retarded?

Whatever. Just keep coming back. Reading your overly simplistic, deeply uneducated, thoroughly brainwashed, and barely comprehensible drivel has become a welcome part of my morning coffee break. I appreciate every chuckle. This place just wouldn’t be the same without you.

they want all US soldiers and bases out of muslim lands? Lets take this one step further, lets dismantel and destroy all the oil infrastructure WE built, and WE OWN. Deport all muslims in the USA back to thier country of origin, don’t give any of them any money at all. Demolish all mosques in the USA.

Some of those results seem confused, even contradictory. For instance, the data suggest most Muslims in the surveys oppose attacks on civilians, but simultaneously have positive impressions of suicide bombers, and even marginally support (or are ambivalent towards) Al Qaeda. How is one to make sense of that? Are they under the impression that suicide bombers exclusively target US and Israeli troops? Do they not believe Bin Laden attacks civilians, either?

I’m not sure what else to say other than repeat the same question I’ve asked 100 times: are we ever going to deal with the reality of what Islam actually is – actually accept it and address it – or are just going to keep hoping Islam is what we hope it is, rather than what the Muslims tell us it is?

The West has been operating under the assumption that there is no truth for the past 100 years now. It’s gonna be kinda hard to rebut Islam’s truth claims.

But… Egypt is our FRIEND. The US Government has sold Egypt a large number of warships and aircraft in the past decade. They are using mostly monetary grants from the US Government to pay for this gear. Our friend who loves Bin Laden is stocking up on our excess military gear… to use on whom? We’re paying them to NOT attack Isreal by giving them the equipment they will need to attack Isreal at some time in the future. Or another of our interests…

What’s the point? The propaganda that is spewed out in these countries has an effect. People never hear the other side, so these polls don’t reflect people who are weighing the facts. Find them not useful.
What’s the agenda of the poll? To provide proof that people really want Islamofascism rather than a normal life? They never like it when it actually arrives. It was even too nasty for the Somalis, who have a much, much higher threshold for hard living than the average American. The Afghans, who are also a rough bunch, turned on the Taliban and chased them out of Kabul during the rout of the Taliban. Banned items were on bold display within 24 hours of the liberation of the city.

If the questions are quoted accurately in English, it’s not hard to see why the results are the way they are. It’s a self-serving poll. The way each question is phrased encourages the responses as we see them.

It does underscore, however, how effective radical Islam is in uniting disparate Islamist thinking. Human nature requires there to be a “them” to blame. Unfortunately it’s U.S.

My money is on that same poll in 2004 being much more anti-West than today. Presuming that to be true, one could make a solid argument that we are (very slowly) winning some hearts and minds. Either that, or many of those who voted in favor of evil have detonated themselves already.

88% of Egyptians polled think that violence against civilians violates the principles of Islam. There’s either some massive cognitive dissonance going on over there, or somebody translated “civilian” wrong.

Anyway, with regard to the “cognitive dissonance”. No doubt the surveys questioners fail to note that Islam’s prohibition against violence against civilians and its desire for “peace” only extends to Muslims (assuming they are the right kind of Muslims). No doubt, those surveyed were not thinking in terms of us infidels.

LIbs refuse to read the bible to understand Judeo-Christianity so I guess it’s too much to ask for them to actually read the Koran. If they did then they’d get a clue as to how Muslims think. All of this shari’a stuff is in the Koran so why should we be surprised that Muslims believe it.

Well the positive things in pages 22-24 are some basis of hopefulness. (Openness to globalization, democracy, not seeing a clash of cultures as inevitable). Interesting study.

honora on April 24, 2007 at 12:51 PM

Muslims are as schizophrenic in their thinking as Mohammed was in his. They see nothing wrong with stating something and then contradicting it later, as long as it benefits Islam. I see no signs of hope short of the Arabs running out of oil money. That can’t happen soon enough, IMO.

Look, the reason they support attacks on Americans is because of our unfair support of Zionist hegemony. If we only behaved properly in regards to the establishment of a Palestinian state, Muslims all over the world wouldn’t feel this way. [/jimmycarter]

Arab Muslims are not rational thinkers. They may say they want Sharia law but when it comes they flee. In his book, “Among the Believers: An Islamic Journey,” VS Naipaul wrote of visiting Iran after the Islamic revolution of Khomeini conquered it. Pious Muslims were ecstatic. One Indian Muslim who lived in Iran for decades told Naipaul how great it was that women would be removed from TV and liquor banned. When Naipaul asked his plans, the Indian said he was headed back to India because the business climate was so uncertain. Take a look at Iran now. Who thinks Sharia law is wonderful thing except the mullahs?

The worst thing we can do to Muslim nations is to let them torture themselves by adopting Sharia law.

Islam isn’t the only religion that lends itself to irrational thinking. Isn’t there a fairly widely practiced religion that believes its prophet was born of a virgin and came back from the dead?

It’s fascinating that Westerners can’t talk about Islam without immediately trying to bring up Christianity. The two make completely different claims, but somehow need to be discussed in tandem, or Christianity before Islam.

88% of Egyptians polled think that violence against civilians violates the principles of Islam. There’s either some massive cognitive dissonance going on over there, or somebody translated “civilian” wrong.

In the view of islam, civilian only includes other muslims, as everyone else is an enemy

Islam isn’t the only religion that lends itself to irrational thinking. Isn’t there a fairly widely practiced religion that believes its prophet was born of a virgin and came back from the dead?

So let me get this straight, God who speaks the infinite universe into existence with four words can’t do miracles? Compared to creation, the virgin birth and the resurrection would seem like cheap parlor tricks.

Islam isn’t the only religion that lends itself to irrational thinking. Isn’t there a fairly widely practiced religion that believes its prophet was born of a virgin and came back from the dead?

The cheap swipes at Christianity wouldn’t seem half as tired as they’ve become if they were at least used on occasion to draw appropriate parallels. The issue at hand isn’t irrationality, though, it’s basic contradiction. “The moon is made of cheese,” is a false statement, and given the preponderance of evidence to the contrary, it could be argued that one who believes in it is irrational. “The moon is made of cheese, but it’s also made of rock,” is more than merely false or irrational; it’s self-contradictory. By violating the most basic common sense rules of logic, it transcends the irrational to become essentially incomprehensible.

Or, at least, common sense in the west. It’s not clear to me at all that the law of contradiction plays a vital role in many Muslim psyches, and that’s particularly disturbing.

It is indeed fascinating how quickly some – on both sides of the aisle – leap to bring up Christianity when the conversation is about Islam. I agree with Blacklake and others (as opposed to, say, Rosie): such knee-jerk responses would be more helpful (and less bigoted) if they were an attempt to draw a real parallel, rather than just draw a reaction.

When millions of Christians (or Buddhists, or Jews, or whatever) express views like this poll shows for Muslims – and when countless Christians (or whatever) start blowing people up and beheading innocents … then let’s turn to the imaginary Virgin and that crazy back from the dead story.

Until then, it’s either a) an attempt to avoid the real issues, or b) an attempt to further a non-religious political agenda.

Muslims are as schizophrenic in their thinking as Mohammed was in his. They see nothing wrong with stating something and then contradicting it later, as long as it benefits Islam. I see no signs of hope short of the Arabs running out of oil money. That can’t happen soon enough, IMO.

PRCalDude on April 24, 2007 at 1:03 PM

Well minus a serious energy initiative from us and other big oil consumers, this isn’t gonna happen anytime soon. Gotta love how we are funding both sides of the WOT.